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The Most Dangerous Gang In America May Already Be In Your Neighborhood
MS-13 (or Mara Salvatrucha) was formed by Salvadoran, mostly illegal immigrants in the 1980Žs, during El SalvadorŽs civil war. While the gang was originally made up exclusively of Salvadorans, they now accept all Central Americans as well as Mexicans. MS stands for Mara (slang for mob), Salva (El Salvador), Trucha (slang for on-guard). MS-13 began in Los Angeles and as members moved deeper into the country, more loosely structured gangs or cliques were formed. However, these cliques continued to communicate with one another, and the network was formed. Difficult to believe it all began in Los Angeles. Over the years, MS-13 has become more well structured, the FBI believes that the gangŽs L.A. members have a higher status amongst the group. The gang typically targets high school and even middle school students for recruitment. Initiation into the gang usually consists of the recruit committing a brutal attack on either a rival gang member or even upon an unsuspecting civilian. On November 26, 2008, Jonathan Retana was convicted of the murder of Miguel Angel Deras, which was part of an MS-13 initiation. MS-13 has aligned themselves with the Mexican Mafia, which has a large presence not only on U.S. streets, but is widely viewed as the most powerful prison gang. The smaller MS-13 pays the Mexican Mafia for protection, while their members are incarcerated. According to the FBI, there are at least 70,000 MS-13 gang members operating between Central America and the United States. The FBI also reports that the gang currently operates in 42 states as well as the District of Columbia. The highest concentrations are in California, the District of Columbia, New York, and Virginia. MS-13 set up shop in Northern Virginia during the 1990s, lured by the region's fast-growing Salvadoran population, later expanding into the Maryland suburbs of Langley Park and Gaithersburg. An example of how widespread the gangŽs tentacles have become was seen in March 2005, when a nation-wide sting operation targeting MS-13, nabbed 103 gang members. All 103 were in this country illegally. The arrests were made in Baltimore, New York, Newark, Dallas, Los Angeles, as well as the District of Columbia. The FBI's National Gang Task Force Director Robert Clifford, said: "The migrant moves and the gang follows. If you follow the construction trade, that is where a lot of these immigrants go." Construction trade, like Fannie & Freddie backed track home developers previously operating here in the Atlanta area MS-13 engages in a wide variety of criminal activities including drug distribution, murder, rape, prostitution, robbery, home invasions, human smuggling, kidnapping, and carjacking. The gang is infamous for machete and grenade attacks. They have also been known to behead their enemies. Most are undoubtedly registered Republicans. In addition to their other criminal activities, MS-13 also apparently acts as paid assassins, with the target being U.S. law enforcement. Posted by: Besoeker 2009-03-04 |
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